We can breathe new life into an old family heirloom by reupholstering. We can strip paint off that hand-me-down dresser our cousin gave us to reveal beauty beneath. Yet, our ability to see potential in old treasures does not translate to the understanding that acquiring a perfect new piece may be just as simple.

Many of us have been in a predicament where we have an idea of something we’d like or we’ve even found a piece, but the finish is wrong. We move on assuming what we’ve seen won’t work, and we still haven’t found what we’re looking for. Cue the Joshua Tree album.

But what if we stopped in our tracks with this excellent deal, and just applied our refinishing techniques from the start? Those bargain chairs with solid wood legs just need stripping and refinishing. And the positive part is that those chairs are delivered pre-assembled. Meaning, we refinish first, then put together. There is a risk: If we fail, or the piece is sub-par, there will be no return. But “with great risk comes great reward,” right Thomas Edison?

For quick inspiration, I will post a few pics of some chairs I purchased and show you how I customized. The leg color started wrong. I stripped the finish, stained, varnished, added castors, and ultimately the results were just right. Custom chairs at a reasonable price point!

Here’s how we started. Great chair, wrong leg color:

Here’s a pic of the process:

And here are the lovely chairs finished for the custom game table we designed: